The last butler of Curraghmore house

Last weekend I went for a walk along the river Clodiagh in the Curraghmore estate to take pictures for this blog dedicated to the last butler of Curraghmore and his lovely wife who finally retired and left for Portugal this summer.

Who says you cannot change your career and your whole life at the age of 50+? “Born and raised” in Transvaal, South Africa”, Basil Croeser moved to Ireland in 1998 and got a job as butler to 8th Marquess of Waterford. Good old times when the notorious “work experience” was not required: there were no butlers in South Africa, not at that time anyway.

Basil served as butler for 12 years. Some of his duties included “seeing to His Lordship’s general well being; preparing and serving light meals; maintaining stock and equipment; maintaining and winding 17 antique clocks”. When His Lordship’s health started to deteriorate, Basil retired from his butler’s duties, and a new, younger butler was hired. Basil was offered the role of a tour guide in the Curraghmore estate.

Old Lord Waterford passed away in 2015, and is remembered as a good and kindly neighbor. Current Lord Waterford doesn’t have a butler. That era is gone.

I have been in the House before, and I know the script, but that was a special day, and sadness was in the air as the last butler took us on his farewell tour.

Basil’s tours and his unique knowledge will be missed.

The bags were already packed, as well as twenty years of memories. I wish them both a long and happy retirement!

These photographs I took for Basil and Colleen with a huge thank you for all they have done! 🙂 I came there early, less than an hour after the sunrise last Sunday, and parked outside the gate. The air was crisp and the sun just showed up from behind the forest.

Suddenly the mist started to rise, first from the river, then from just about everything!

In front of my eyes, the rippling steam rose from the grass. It was so thick that the sun rays couldn’t get through it.

The tree branches covered with moss started steaming too!

The sun rose higher and lit the tree tops.

What a magnificent morning!

I crossed the bridge and walked along the river. A strange object caught my eye. It’s a tail! I quickly checked my settings.

Red squirrel run too far and too high from me, but I noticed a big sweet chestnut in his mouth. I only know one such tree nearby, but it is on the other side of the river. What a brave little fella.

Young pheasants are having a double date. There are hundreds of them in the woods.

This one started to walk towards me – for a treat or for a fight?

He stood just a few steps away, looking at me with one eye then the other before slowly walking away across the road.

I walked across the bridge again to see the sweet chestnut tree ( and may be another squirrel) and visit the House. The other side of the river looked warm and welcoming.

The pale yellow Ferns seem so fragile.

The sweet chestnut tree provided me with a lot of entertainment and some fifty pictures of its cute fruits. No squirrels though.

The House is closed for public tours until the Easter 2019, but you can try to make an appointment.

I turn to the road that would take me to the King John’s bridge. I still don’t give up hope to get a picture of Kingfisher, but apparently not today as a young couple with an off-leash dog turns into the same road. I let them pass, and dive into the dark side path that takes me in the opposite direction. A natural arrangement of sun-lit leaves in the puddle draws my attention. When I look at the picture, I am very pleased to see a hovering tiny bonus Syrphid fly and its shadow.

The path is quite dark, and I am not surprised that the only sunny spot is occupied. Young pheasant female doesn’t consider me a threat and makes herself cozy in the sun.

No Kingfisher in sight, but a plump Dipper with a bright white bib looks over his shoulder at me with disapproval. Sorry, pal, my camera does make loud noises.

The next stretch is a bamboo ‘forest’. After I finally emerge from the greenery, I step on my favorite ‘fairy path’ 🙂 It is all for today.

Hope you all enjoyed the morning in Curraghmore as much as I did.

Here are more links to the Curraghmore stories : The Stag and the Dragon I ; The Stag and the Dragon II ; The Tower ; Lady Florence ; Clonegam There are many other related stories in this blog.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Waterford Walls 2018

Once again the streets of Waterford became an art gallery as the Waterford Walls festival brought in another 48 works that transformed the look of the city. I had a few days to catch a glimpse of some artists, and enjoyed the completed work when I returned from my trip.

Youri Cansell, aka Mantra (France), is famous for his nature-themed works, but for this festival he painted an image of street artist. What a thoughtful gift! I hope it has a long life – it is already loved here. You see a gentleman in my picture enjoy mimicking the painted artist. The work is sponsored by Ambassador of France in Ireland.

Here are some links to my previous Waterford Walls posts : 2015, 2016, 2017. Ah, and some more 🙂 Now I will take you around our ‘art gallery’.

Kevin Bohan is a full time artist and illustrator based in Dublin ( Kevin Bohan Arts). If you open my 2017 link, there is a picture of his mural, The Love Hearts.

This time, Kevin is painting a Rainbow Serpent, freehand. He says the wall will guide him.

Kevin advises me to come again Sunday and have my hand painted as part of the mural. He explains that the mural is a collaboration project that will include the artworks of two national school students.

I show up Sunday ( wouldn’t miss the chance) and lovely Sarah assists me with the hand painting.

The mural is sponsored by the Australian Embassy in Dublin ( Kevin used the aboriginal painting techniques in this work).

Finished work.

Several mural artists share Stephen street, it is why I like to come here. Toronto/Dubai based artist Fathima Mohiuddin, aka Fats Patrol, is working next to Kevin.

All geared up.

Fats is painting this bold and fearless owl for a reason. It represents female energy and connection between the nature and human spirit. Fats is currently pursuing a diploma in Art Therapy in Toronto.

The finished work.

Irish artist Lisa Murphy.

Shuk, graffiti artist from Ireland. Harsh midday shadows added the silhouette at the bottom of the painting 🙂

RASK (Ireland) and Bo Pedersen (Denmark) teamwork.

While I was hanging around taking pictures, Bo was working away and minding his own business. A disputatious elderly man approached him and started to challenge his knowledge of art and purpose of graffiti. When (quite arrogantly) asked about his education, Bo replied that he actually has a degree in Arts. The man was stunned. “Then you are more educated than I” he exclaimed in disbelief, and left visibly deflated. Graffiti rocks 🙂

The finished wall.

Louise McKenna (Ireland).

Louis Masai is a painter, sculptor, illustrator and street artist based in London. He is best known for his vivid murals of patchwork animals.

The finished work.

Graciela Goncalves Da Silva, aka Animalitoland, Argentina. She is a self taught illustrator and graphic designer, second time painting at the Waterford Walls.

Garreth Joyce, Graphic artist based in Dublin.

Louis Boirdon and Edouard Egea, aka MonkeyBird (France), a street team sharing their self-created mythology (the monkey stands for realism, the bird for dreams). The Castle on the Cliff – a fascinating stencil creation is the duo’s gift to Waterford.

Wandering around the town I came across that guy who was painting over a still presentable mural, the work of the Mexican artist KINMX. He said the wall had been allocated for a new Joe Caslin’s work. I wondered if we were suddenly short of the old walls, but fair enough, the murals don’t live forever, and a quality work of a renowned artist is always a bonus. However, I started to worry about the Birdo’s work in the same location. And I was right to worry. Birdo’s work is no more. No comments.

Joe Caslin is using his murals for social change. I don’t know if you are familiar with his nearly identical mural I couldn’t say No.

The Neon Waves mural by Dan Kitchener, aka DANK, is also painted over the last year’s work by DMC. It looks amazing. People still stop and stare at the neon beauty – rainy Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Another stunner is Eira and the White Tiger by Sonny, British-born artist from South Africa. We already have his Neon Tiger painted last year.

The Stop sign is real!

A few more works in my reach. Spaceship by Shane Sutton Art.

Mr Cenz, based in London. New at Waterford Walls.

Lost Optics (Romania).

Our tour ends at the Waterford Walls HQ where UK based artist Peachzz is trying to set up an Octopus Lair.

The following day.

The other end of the lair. Looks fascinating.

Waterford Walls

The HQ building and the wall by Curtis Hylton. Thank you for visiting Waterford Walls festival!

Well, it was a huge post, hope you were not too tired walking with me. If you still have energy left after our excursion, please visit and enjoy Resa McConaghy’s blog Graffiti Lux and Murals

Have a wonderful weekend!

How I met Muriel

For a change, this post is about the American Southwest. I have written about this part of the world before: Bryce Canyon, Arches and Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and my childhood memories and other posts. This post is also related to my childhood.

I have been a reader since the age of four, but my love for reading took off when I started Elementary and discovered our school library. There were no age limits – teenage book section was at my disposal. I judged the books by the cover – it is how I came across The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry, and Johnny became my role model 🙂 I loved the intelligent humor of these books, but some stories broke my little heart. One of these stories is Jimmy Hayes and Muriel. I have read this story countless times when I felt like crying, and it always worked. It is a short story, and if you haven’t read it yet, here it is:

Jimmy Hayes and Muriel

A short story by O. Henry

Supper was over, and there had fallen upon the camp the silence that accompanies the rolling of corn-husk cigarettes. The water hole shone from the dark earth like a patch of fallen sky. Coyotes yelped. Dull thumps indicated the rocking-horse movements of the hobbled ponies as they moved to fresh grass. A half-troop of the Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers were distributed about the fire.

A well-known sound — the fluttering and scraping of chaparral against wooden stirrups — came from the thick brush above the camp. The rangers listened cautiously. They heard a loud and cheerful voice call out reassuringly:

“Brace up, Muriel, old girl, we’re ‘most there now! Been a long ride for ye, ain’t it, ye old antediluvian handful of animated carpet-tacks? Hey, now, quit a tryin’ to kiss me! Don’t hold on to my neck so tight — this here paint hoss ain’t any too shore-footed, let me tell ye. He’s liable to dump us both off if we don’t watch out.”

Two minutes of waiting brought a tired “paint” pony single-footing into camp. A gangling youth of twenty lolled in the saddle. Of the “Muriel” whom he had been addressing, nothing was to be seen. Read more

Jimmy’s fate didn’t concern me for some reason. I cried for his little loyal Muriel.

An encyclopedia found in the same school library gave me idea about Muriel’s looks and classification, but I have never met the creature in person, until last summer.

A part of a lovely weekend spent in our friends’ St. George house was a trip to desert. We took some dirt roads and short hikes to give our little explorers the feel of wilderness.

Utah

There were lizards and insects to admire. I am not sure, but I think it is a Locust and a Mormon cricket. They were huge.

Many wildflowers had passed their peak, but some were still in bloom: Globe mallow, Prickly poppy, Desert buckwheat and some cacti.

It was on our way back when I noticed something under a sage bush. I rolled the window down and my heart skipped a beat. I took a picture and zoomed to make sure it was not a mistake. It wasn’t. I finally met Muriel.

I cannot tell that it is exactly the horned lizard species from the story, but it is the closest I could get to meeting my Muriel. It has been some 50 years…

The lizard didn’t move. It was a very hot day, and I didn’t want to bother the creature and force a photo session on it. I was already happy enough.

Some pomegranate flowers spotted in St. George to brighten your day.

There are six bloggers whose blogs I really want you to visit. As this post was basically about the short story that has been stuck in my head for 50 something years, I want to share the books I have read recently ( or about to start reading ), and their authors. I have read every book of these authors and look forward to the new releases.

Science fiction and fantasy writer Craig Boyack – The Yak Guy Project was the first book I opened after several months of abstinence from reading. I truly enjoyed the protagonist’s journey towards maturity.

Science fiction writer Sarah Higbee – Book #3 Breathing Space of Sarah’s trilogy Sunblinded is a fantastic sequel and I hope for more books in the future.

Historical fiction writer Millie Thom – I am currently reading Millie’s Book #3 Wyvern of Wessex of the Sons of Kings trilogy. This is a completely engrossing read, from start to finish.

Fantasy writer Diana Wallace Peach – Legacy Of Souls, The Shattered Sea Book #2 was recently released, and I cannot wait to open it. Soul swallowers are the most fascinating Diana’s creations so far (You read about them in Book #1)

Young adult fantasy writer’s Jean Lee’s blog is a magical place that is very difficult to leave. You just want to read one more article, then another… Recently, Jean nominated me for the Liebster Award, a great friend she is. Visit Jean’s Book page – read her new novel and short stories.

Artist and author Resa McConaghy – Nine Black Lives, a detective novel, my latest read. Resa’s knowledge of the film industry makes the book stand out. It is a very intriguing piece with much potential for many sequels to come.

Hope you find new friends and amazing books.

www.inesemjphotography.com Have a happy weekend!

Hello from the Foxes

As I was driving through Thomastown last month, I thought I could stop by at Pat Gibbons’ house and get the latest updates. Those who don’t know Pat The Fox Man, can read his story here. This story has been copied and pasted so many times that I gave up being annoyed.

Fortunately, Pat was home, we spent a few minutes visiting and went to the fox pen. It was about 4 pm, one hour before the foxes are let inside for the evening, and I didn’t want to make them upset by dragging them out for a picture. Minnie was already whining, overreacting like the drama queen she is. Nothing is ever right for poor Minnie 🙂

It took a lot of flattering ( ‘who’s a good girl?’) and a prolonged shoulder massage to get her to lift her ‘ cheerful’ face to me for a picture. Not that I am complaining here. Minnie is all soft and lovely, and it is only a pleasure petting her thick silky fur.

Divas are allowed to have a bad day. When she is ready, you behold a star 🙂

Two years ago Minnie got pregnant by Henry. Pat was not in condition to care for another fox, and a woman from Kilkenny adopted the kit. I asked Pat how was the little fox doing. Visibly saddened by the question Pat said that the kit has died. He recons it was something about food. Fox is neither a dog nor a cat. Pat gives them chicken legs and beef mince, but they also have ‘extras’ like snails, worms, wild berries.

Pat speaks about commitment and dedication one must have if they plan on keeping a rescued fox. Foxes are creatures of habit and they need their routine. Every day at 5 pm Pat brings them into the house, and it has to be 5pm, sharp.

Recently their friend, the old dog Blackie, was hit by car and died. Pat got a new pup, this time a snow white one, but the foxes don’t mind the color 🙂 The pup is very playful which is just fine with the foxes.

Henry wasn’t in a good mood and run away from us to his enclosure. A couple of month ago he bit Pat’s hand. As Pat explains, he was picking him up and accidentally pressed on his bad paw. It was just a reaction, and Henry himself was probably terrified, as he is so gentle and sweet. Pat got blood poisoning and had to spent 6 days in the hospital. No hard feelings though. Henry got 60 stitches on his head and body when he was mauled by dogs, Pat explains. He must have very sore paw as his leg never straightened out. The dogs badly mauled his jaw and his left eye.

Beautiful Grainne sits in her favorite corner. Each fox has their favorite place in the pen. She is about 12, and has a lot of silver in her fur, but she is still playful, and performs her usual tricks on demand.

Good girl!

This is an old picture I took of Grainne and Minnie.

Pat often takes them out to Thomastown. Foxes walk on a leash and stop to let people pet them. Meanwhile, Pat shares his thoughts on the wild life preservation. The foxes sometimes get invited to schools. Recently they got a shop opening ceremony invitation.

After leaving the fox pen we talk for another few minutes, and hiding behind the grass, I take some pictures of Pat’s gorgeous chickens.

The puppy cannot wait for me to start my car – it will be the highlight of his day 🙂 Thankfully, he doesn’t jump on the road.

I hope to see them all in December.

My other blog posts about Pat and his foxes:

https://inesemjphotography.com/2015/08/04/all-creatures/

https://inesemjphotography.com/2014/04/06/kindness/

https://inesemjphotography.com/2017/01/27/pat-and-his-foxes/

www.inesemjphotography.com Have a fantastic weekend!

Spraoi 2018 – Scotch is back!

For those who don’t know yet, Spraoi is a free street festival taking place every August bank holiday weekend in Waterford, Ireland. I have written a good few posts about Spraoi, some of them can be found on this page. Spraoi is back once again, and so is Scotch!

Last August I featured the Dutch party band Scotch in one of my Spraoi related blog posts. An established favorite in Waterford, the band is celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. Way to go, Scotch!

This is Tim. He wasn’t with the band in Waterford last year.

Sam and Nathan,

Wouter and Sjoerd,

and Juno ( cute pout, man 🙂 )

I didn’t get a decent picture of Jochem that time, but bear with me.

Hi Wouter! Glad to see you and the guys. How does it feel to be on the Waterford soil again?

We really enjoyed to be back at Spraoi! It’s starting to feel a bit like home 🙂

How was your year since the last Spraoi? Any news?

The last year we’ve been mostly on the road. Have been touring every other month to a total of 12 different countries: The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Croatia, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

It is a very impressive list. Delighted for you and for those who were lucky to hear you perform. Sad that Sam won’t be touring Europe with the band any more. Why this decision? Do you have another violinist lined up?

Sam decided there’s no room in his life to play in a band. It’s too demanding to run a family, have a day job and tour all over Europe. It has been harsh but in the last months we’ve found our way to deal with it. There will be a new violinist, and starting next week we will be performing a new show. Looking forward to that!

So do I and all your fans. Thank you!

So, the rest of this post is dedicated to Sam who has been with the band from its first day.